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California pellitory, pelitory, rillita pellitory, unknown

Photo is of parent taxon

pellitory, rillita pellitory

Habit Herbs, annual, 0.2-5.5 dm. Herbs, 0.3-5.5 dm.
Stems

simple or freely branched, sometimes densely matted, prostrate, decumbent, ascending, or erect.

Leaf

blades narrowly to very broadly ovate, oblong, orbiculate, or reniform, 0.2-4.5 × 0.2-2.7 cm, base broadly cuneate, rounded, truncate, or nearly cordate, apex acuminate, acute, obtuse, or rounded;

proximal pair of lateral veins arising at junction of blade and petiole.

blades narrowly to broadly ovate, less frequently oblong or nearly orbiculate, 0.4-4.5 × 0.4-2.7 cm, conspicuously longer than wide, base broadly cuneate, rounded, or truncate, apex distally rounded or acuminate to acute or obtuse.

Flowers

involucral bracts 1-4.5 mm;

tepals 2-2.8 mm, shorter or longer than bracts.

involucral bracts 1-4.5 mm;

tepals erect, loosely connivent at maturity, ca.2-2.8 mm, apex acute.

Achenes

light brown, symmetric, 0.9-1.2 × 0.6-0.7 mm, apex obtuse, mucro apical;

stipe centered, short-cylindric, basally dilated.

Parietaria hespera

Parietaria hespera var. hespera

Phenology Flowering late winter–early summer, rarely at other times.
Habitat Chaparral, deserts, roadsides, sand dunes, often in shaded and moist places
Elevation 0-1400 m (0-4600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NM; NV; UT; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NM; NV; UT; nw Mexico
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Tepals erect, loosely connivent, apex acute; leaf blades conspicuously longer than wide, base broadly cuneate, rounded, or truncate.
var. hespera
1. Tepals spreading or recurved and twisted at maturity, distinct, apex long-acuminate, attenuate, or caudate; leaf blades as long as or slightly longer than wide, base rounded to nearly cordate.
var. californica
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Urticaceae > Parietaria Urticaceae > Parietaria > Parietaria hespera
Sibling taxa
P. floridana, P. judaica, P. pensylvanica, P. praetermissa
P. hespera var. californica
Subordinate taxa
P. hespera var. californica, P. hespera var. hespera
Name authority B. D. Hinton: Sida 3: 293. (1969) B. D. Hinton
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